Author Topic: Experiencing Emptiness? (Read 2031 times)

CarsonZi · « **on:** September 11, 2009, 06:04:06 AM »

Namaste Friends....

This morning in meditation I had an experience I would like to share. The resonating effects are still with me now[

]

In the mornings I usually only have time to sit for 40 minutes, so I usually do 2 minutes of Bastrika Pranayam, 8 minutes of Spinal Breathing Pranayam, 2 sets of Yoni Mudra Kumbhaka which usually takes about a minute and a half, and then I do 18 and a half minutes of Deep Meditation and take a ten minute rest after. This was my routine this morning exactly.

About 8 minutes into DM today my dog (who was sleeping on the couch beside me as I meditated) made some sort of sound (I still don't know what it was, probably just licking her lips or something) that brought me out of a "state" I had been in for around 7 or so minutes..... I remember finishing up my Yoni Mudra Kumbhaka and starting in on the mantra, and I remember repeating it maybe 3 or 4 times (fairly slowly with a decent amount of space between repetitions) and then I "woke up" to the most insane noise I have ever heard....it sounded so alien..... This sound brought me "back to awareness" or whatever, but it took me probably 30 seconds to remember that I was a human, that I was meditating and that the sound that "woke me up" was likely my dog beside me on the couch. I looked at the clock and I was between 8 and 9 minutes into my meditation. Where did "I" (my consciousness/awareness) go for 7 or so minutes? I don't remember anything. I wasn't sleeping I don't think, but I certainly wasn't aware! Is this "emptiness"? Can emptiness only be experienced "after the fact"?

I know this sounds pretty similar to Lesson 17: http://www.aypsite.com/plus/17.html but this experience seems slightly different to me. Perhaps it only seems different to me because I experienced it instead of read about it[

]....

Any thoughts?

Love,
Carson[^]

miguel · « **Reply #1 on:** September 11, 2009, 06:52:13 AM »

quote:
and then I "woke up" to the most insane noise I have ever heard....it sounded so alien.....

ha ha,that made me laugh,i can imagine the situation...haha

Congratulations for your new experiences and progress,it sounds wonderful. It was like a samadhi state or something like that...you went too far this time bro'.good thing.

Shanti · « **Reply #2 on:** September 11, 2009, 07:16:15 AM »

quote:
Originally posted by CarsonZi
I looked at the clock and I was between 8 and 9 minutes into my meditation. Where did "I" (my consciousness/awareness) go for 7 or so minutes? I don't remember anything. I wasn't sleeping I don't think, but I certainly wasn't aware! Is this "emptiness"? Can emptiness only be experienced "after the fact"?

I know this sounds pretty similar to Lesson 17: http://www.aypsite.com/plus/17.html but this experience seems slightly different to me. Perhaps it only seems different to me because I experienced it instead of read about it[]....

I think this is what they call the turiya state. Yogani explains it well here:

quote:
Originally posted by yogani

As the lesson Christi linked points out, turiya is not an ultimate state of consciousness, or an advanced condition we aspire to. It is only inner silence, which everyone touches every time they lose the mantra in deep meditation. It is the ever-present reservoir of stillness within us. As we advance in our practices, it becomes a normal part everyday living. But it is there from the very beginning also. Anyone who has experienced inner silence, a sense of witnessing events from within, knows turiya. Everyone has, yes?

Turiya means, "the fourth state" of consciousness, pointing to an ordinariness, and it is naturally experienced in life along with the other three states: waking, dreaming sleep and deep sleep.

With deep meditation and related practices, we gradually cultivate our nervous system to experience turiya simultaneously with the other three state on an ongoing basis. It is abiding inner silence. So, turiya is not a destination. It is our inner well-spring of peace, energy and creativity that is always available. It is our Self.

A good way to regard turiya is as "living stillness," not as a distant condition of enlightenment. It is only a mantra away, and soon abiding as the witness in all that we do.

The guru is in you.

Ananda · « **Reply #3 on:** September 11, 2009, 07:30:52 AM »

Thk you for sharing Carson, it's beautiful[

].

AYP works!

Oh and plz say hello to your doggy for me[:X].

vijikr · « **Reply #4 on:** September 11, 2009, 07:43:17 AM »

Wow beautiful experience Carzon!!

Guess animals could pickup or feel them. I noticed recently the kids below 10yrs irrespective of their nationality they wanted to come to me.Like while I was shopping maybe 4yr old girl an arab gal whom I have never seen or known she was just happy to see me and she was wavying and wouldn't go and her dad pulled her and she was looking back and smiling.Maybe this kundalini stuff attracts kids and animals.becaz thats not just a single incident many kids where smiling at me or just they wanted to come and shakehand with me.First I thought may be I resembled someone the kid knows but multiple incident made me think otherwise.

Sorry for the loooooong story.So I guess your Dog just knew or could pcik your kundalini...something like that.

Love and Light
Viji

CarsonZi · « **Reply #5 on:** September 11, 2009, 08:00:40 AM »

Thanks everyone for the Love and comments!

@Miguel: Typical for me......"going too far"

@Shanti: I don't know much about "states" of mind, let alone the names for them, so thank you for sharing.

@Ananda: I will give my puppies a pet for you when I get home from work in an hour or so....I'm sure they will say "Hello Ananda" right back atcha[

]

@Viji: Funny....I wasn't thinking about my dog picking up on anything really, but that's an interesting thought. I know my dogs love to meditate with me, this is quite obvious...if I meditate somewhere where they can't be close to me, then they start whining until I let them in, or until my wife does....whoever breaks first[

] This happens everytime without fail.

About the children...I have the exact same thing going on over here. Just the other day my wife and I went out for Mexican food because it was gorgeous outside for September in Canada and this restaurant has an outdoor patio. Well, while eating dinner there in the sun, my wife said to me: "Look" and pointed to the window of the interior of the restaurant....there, sitting in a booth by herself just staring out the window at me, was a little girl maybe 4 or 5 years old. As soon as I noticed her she grinned really big and ran away to a different table with her parents. She came back to stare through the window at me probably 15 more times while we were eating, each time running away when I looked at her. And my wife was raised in a Mormon household so she has 5 siblings and only her/us and one brother do not have children. The rest each have 4 a piece. So that is a LOT of nieces and nephews, all of which are under the age of 10. Everytime I am around them I am the centre of attention/play for all of them. It would be exhausting if it weren't so invigorating[

)]....Perhaps it is just because I love kids and because I have none of my own, but perhaps it is a "special connection" to the still more or less "pure consciousness" existing within these innocent, unconditionally loving children. I find animals to be the same way. There is something about the love of an "innocent" being....it is truly unconditional, and that is something very special. Thank you for sharing.

Love,
Carson[^]

Konchok Ösel Dorje · « **Reply #6 on:** September 11, 2009, 10:29:12 AM »

That's not emptiness. Emptiness is wakeful without the "I." In emptiness, when you hear a sound, you don't have the experience of waking up. You have the experience of an echo with no location. Emptiness is awakened.

Akasha · « **Reply #7 on:** September 11, 2009, 03:26:55 PM »

Thanks for bringing this up Carson.

Can anyone relate typical timescales relating to the sleepiness/drowsiness phases/cycles of DM?

Or is this a permanent feature?

It's like thesse days( such as today's last session) the moment i start DM after sbP ,halfay through saying the mantra for the second time i feel a drowsiness immediately take over and subsume me.And then it seems like it persists afterwards.And i may feel like an extended nap. I have read of the explanations buried in the archives- purification, fatigue etc but no real suggestion of typical timescale.

Shanti- you've documented and related your experiences- you say these phases pass- how long do they typically last( sorry if that is a difficult question)?

For others that may be experiencing similar, here is a relevant thread i have been reading-

http://www.aypsite.com/plus-forum/index.php?topic=3308#28318

there are a lot of interesting threads relating to this subject if you peruse the archives.

(it's the extended nap afterwards- this is the thing that can affect daily life- during meditation not so important- it is only 20 mins after all).

Akasha · « **Reply #8 on:** September 11, 2009, 04:36:14 PM »

Here's another somewhat related thread,although slightly off-topic here as it discusses Oshos' writings, & a view expressed on the subject of mantra meditaiton( a deviation from ayp " gospel", if you like....i.e yogani. i can undersatnd the need to avoid courting confusion for those say juuust starting out with ayp, which can be a vicariously manic kind of rollercoaster-ride, especially if you've also come to ayp with a few ( upset K) issues for e.g ), but interesting nonethless.

http://www.aypsite.com/plus-forum/index.php?topic=5157&SearchTerms=asleep,after,meditation

I think what Christiane was saying that she did'nt want to be doing the DM for eons of time if there was not significant result becuase of it( which is quite understandable & realistic).I was vaguely aware that in Osho's Book of Secrets he lists many techniques to suit the many varied practitioners and individuals/personalities out there. It is good and refreshing to question technique/method although i am also familiar with the advice often given to find a technique( particularly with meditation...or subtle forms of it, like DM i suppose) and stick with it, usually for life ,that is.

i think i'm familiar with the lessons enough, the jist of AYP, to hear the other side, perhaps contrary view-points.( although i do trust Yogani, and respect the powerf and efficacy of ayp)

he,osho, says something like saying the mantra and listening to it can keep us alert so we don't drift into a sleep-induced state. But the rationale presented for the dm approach is presented as a technique to transcend the mind,and it's agenda.

See you's folks later, as it is getting late here.

manig · « **Reply #9 on:** September 11, 2009, 05:22:59 PM »

One day Socrates was lost. For forty-eight hours he was not found. He was sought all over, the whole Athens went in search of Socrates, but he was not to be found anywhere.

Then he was found outside the city, miles away, standing under a tree. Half of his body was just under snow. Snow was falling, and he was just frozen, standing there with open eyes. But he was not looking at anyone.

When the crowd gathered around, they looked into his eyes and they thought that he was dead. His eyes were just like stones -- looking, but not looking at anyone; just static, unmoving. They felt his heart: It was beating slowly; he was alive. They had to give him shocks, only then did he come back to look at them. Immediately he asked, "What is the time now?" He had missed forty-eight hours completely, they never existed for him. He was not in this world of time and space.

So they asked, "What were you doing? We thought you were dead already... forty-eight hours!" He said, "I was staring at the stars, and just suddenly it happened that the stars disappeared. And then, I don't know... then the whole world disappeared. But I remained in such a cool, calm, blissful state that if it is death it is worth thousands of lives. If it is death, then I would like to enter it again and again."

It may have happened without his knowledge, because Socrates was not a yogi, not a tantric. He was not in any way concerned consciously with any spiritual practice. But he was a great thinker, and it may have happened as an accident that he was staring at the stars in the night, and suddenly his look returned back, inwards. You can do it. And stars are really good objects. Lie down on the ground, look at the black sky, and then fix yourself on one star.
Concentrate on it, stare at it. Narrow down your consciousness to one star; forget other stars. By and by, concentrate, narrow down your gaze. Other stars will be there just on the fringe, on the boundary. But by and by they will disappear, and only one star will remain.

Then go on staring, go on staring. A moment will come when that star will disappear. And when that star disappears, you will appear to yourself.

The Book of Secrets - Osho <http://rapidshare.com/files/8233179/Osho-The_Book_Of_Secrets.pdf>

Akasha · « **Reply #10 on:** September 12, 2009, 12:30:49 AM »

Those time stamps at the bottom of my posts(certainly many of them) are not accurate btw.

I spend 20 mins writing the above, and 5-10 mins editing it.Though it has a time stamp of 3-4 hours later.

It's not a big deal though I notice no-one else has this.Mmmmmm......

Shanti? - what is this all about?- I'm airing it here though i guess i could have PM'ed you.

Shanti · « **Reply #11 on:** September 12, 2009, 03:00:52 AM »

quote:
Originally posted by Akasha

Those time stamps at the bottom of my posts(certainly many of them) are not accurate btw.

I spend 20 mins writing the above, and 5-10 mins editing it.Though it has a time stamp of 3-4 hours later.

It's not a big deal though I notice no-one else has this.Mmmmmm......

Shanti? - what is this all about?- I'm airing it here though i guess i could have PM'ed you.

Sorry Akasha, I have no idea.

You are saying you posted the post at 1.36 and edited it about 30 min later, but the edited by time is like 5.38 (about 4 hrs later) right?
Do you know if it was approved right away?

I can ask Rui (our technical expert) to look into it, if it is a quick thing. He may have an answer for you.

ruirib · « **Reply #12 on:** September 12, 2009, 03:23:47 AM »

Hi,

Can't give a definitive answer, but I would advance that it is due to your post not having been approved immediately. I think the posting time of a moderated post will be the time the post was approved (it seems it would be the only way to ensure no users would miss the post if they use the active topics page). If so, then the 4 hour lag would result from the time it took for your post to be approved. I see no other reason.

Also, be aware that post time is the forum time (eastern US time), not yours.

Etherfish · « **Reply #13 on:** September 12, 2009, 03:33:14 AM »

That's the answer, Rui.
He lives in the UK.
server time is different than UK time.

Akasha · « **Reply #14 on:** September 12, 2009, 05:57:30 AM »

Hi Shanti[

],ruirib & Etherfish,

Oh well.... it must be the time it's mmoderated.

Thank you.

Love Akasha[^]

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Author Topic: Experiencing Emptiness? (Read 2031 times)